Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

It was a workmanlike performance, one that should not be ignored because the Celtics are peaking at the proper time. They dropped a winnable game Sunday against the Philadelphia 76ers without Thomas, and then they came back and whipped the Washington Wizards the next night.

Indiana was generally the same team it was three months ago: Paul George and a bunch of other dudes. George, whose future in Indiana is in question after next season, dropped 37 points in 42 minutes, while Jeff Teague added 25.

The rest of the Pacers were 17-for-46 shooting, as the Celtics battered Indiana with their depth.

The ball movement was crisp. Thomas avoided his occasional bad shots and handed out five assists as the team made the extra pass and punished the Pacers toward the end of shot clocks.

Boston Globe — Celtics peaking at the right time

In a match-up against a potential first round playoff opponent this game demonstrated the gap that should exist between a Celtics team sniffing around the top seed and the cluster of mediocre squads that occupy the middle levels of the Eastern Conference. Even Paul George wants to come here admits it:

“If you look at their roster, everybody knows what to expect out of everybody,” said Paul George. “There’s never a moment where a guy is like, ‘What kind of shot are you taking?’ or ‘what are you doing?’ They are beyond that.”

Imagine this playing out again in a few weeks– should it even get to six games? Not if the Celtics play the way they did last night, which is simply the way they should play if everyone does what they’re supposed to do: Isaiah at the controls on offense, giving the game what it needs, AB and Jae Crowder as threats to hit open shots if too much attention is given to Thomas, Al Horford as a jack of all trades on offense and a 3-4 man bench unit headlined by Marcus Smart and Kelly Olynyk, with dashes of Jaylen Brown and one of Tyler Zeller, Jonas Jerebko, Gerald Green, or Terry Rozier (and only one). It shouldn’t go more than six games.

Match-up pending, but if the Celtics go out against an inferior opponent, like Indiana, on their home floor in the first round, they shouldn’t lose.

Ugly loss to Philly aside, the Cs are now 5-1 after their hellish February/March of constant road trips. The next five are home against Phoenix,  Miami, Milwaukee and Orlando then off to New York for a Sunday matinee. If the Cs simply Do Their Jobs, those five should look something like last night’s game: Win, Dance, Repeat (ok, ok, I’ll stop borrowing phrases from other teams now).

ESPN Boston — Isaiah Thomas on Boston Celtics ‘things are clicking for us’

On page 2, AB feels back to full strength

As Avery Bradley made his way to the middle of the post-game media scrum inside the Boston Celtics locker room, he was informed that he had played 39 minutes in their 109-100 win over Indiana.

“I played 39?” Bradley said. “Man, I’m not even tired.”

And that may be the clearest sign to date that Bradley, a defensive pest who has been pestered by injuries this season, is as healthy as we’ve seen him in some time.

In addition to scoring 18 points on 7-for-13 shooting, he also grabbed eight rebounds, dished out a couple of assists, had a steal and was the head of the defensive snake that made life as hard as possible on Paul George who still managed to have a big night scoring the ball.

For Bradley to play so many minutes is a bit of a surprise when you consider how overcautious the Celtics were with his return from a right Achilles injury that kept him out for 18 straight games.

Bradley attributes the Celtics having some time off leading up Wednesday’s game.

“It was good for us and we were definitely prepared (on Wednesday),” Bradley said. “And it showed we’re improving every day as a team. We’re really locking in when we need to.”

CSNNE — Avery Bradley ‘not even tired’ after playing 39 minutes vs. Indiana Pacers

Ah- the late season schedule continues to pay dividends for the Celtics. Don’t underestimate how much not leaving this time-zone, a decrease in back-to-backs and a slew of games at home is helping Avery Bradley recover even faster.

Now that he’s back, I have to sometimes stop myself from taking Bradley for granted. Outside of Isaiah, Bradley is the team’s best bucket-getter and is still the “captain” of this defense. The Cs played pretty well without Bradley earlier this season, but when the game slowed down in the playoffs against Atlanta, the Cs stood no chance without him. Good health for Bradley going into the second season should finally ensure a deeper playoff run for the Cs.

And finally, we and Isaiah aren’t satisfied with the playoffs or even the top seed

Thomas still hasn’t taken any time to congratulate himself on his third straight playoff berth.

“We’re looking for bigger things than that,” he said. “It feels good to clinch, especially (10) games before the season is over, but we got a bigger goal. We want to advance it in the playoffs. That’s our goal for now and go from there.”

Mass Live — Isaiah Thomas, Boston Celtics, no longer satisfied by just a playoff berth

I’ll take Isaiah’s quote a step further and say the Cs shouldn’t even congratulate themselves for the number one seed, if they are to overtake the Cavs (which looks possible if you combine Ty Lue’s penchant for giving rest and last night’s no-show in Denver). It would be neat to grab the conference’s top seed and potentially grab the number one pick, but c’mon, this isn’t Indianapolis. We don’t hang banners for that crap.

For the first time in the Stevens’ era, if the Cs don’t win a playoff series, or maybe even two series’, this season will be a disappointment. We’re with ya, Isaiah, now go get it done.

The rest of the links:

Mass Live — Guerschon Yabusele injury update |  Boston Celtics rotation notes  |  Paul George, Indiana Pacers star, envies Boston Celtics’ chemistry  |Kelly Olynyk, Boston Celtics big man, ‘sells himself short’ according to Brad Stevens

CSNNE — Schedule should help Cs in battle for East’s top seed  |  Stars, Studs & Duds

Globe — Celtics  race past Pacers, now just one game behind Cavs